Under the Lobbying Act, organisations that conduct the business of consultant lobbying are required to join the register and declare whether they subscribe to a relevant code of conduct.
All registrants must also declare the names of the clients on whose behalf they have lobbied ministers and permanent secretaries in each quarter.
As of 9am this morning, the register became live and those covered by the Act were able to create an account and upload the names of their clients.
The Office of the Registrar said organisations could apply to join the register at any time as long as it was before they carried out lobbying, as defined by the Lobbying Act.
Among the first agencies to sign up to the register were Bell Pottinger, PLMR and FleishmanHillard. The six registrants, so far, also include Corporate Reputation Consulting, Incisive Health and the Public Affairs Company.
Among the first agencies to sign up to the register were Bell Pottinger, PLMR and FleishmanHillard. The six registrants, so far, also include Corporate Reputation Consulting, Incisive Health and the Public Affairs Company.
As part of the transparency process, the Office of the Registrar has provided a web link to a publicly accessible part of its website.
Alison White, the registrar, said: "I’m announcing today that after just 130 working days, the register is open for business. The register is intended to help improve the transparency of the democratic process and allow members of the public to review whose interests are being represented by consultant lobbyists. My role as registrar is to ensure that all those that are required to register do so. I will continue to work with consultant lobbyists across a number of sectors to make sure that they understand their statutory obligations."
